Tài liệu Project Management Professional-Chapter 8 ppt

It is said that if good communications exist in a project, the team will be motivated and the project will succeed in spite of problems that might kill another project.. It is essential

Communications Management

Probably the single most important thing in project management is

communications It is said that if good communications exist in a project, the team will be motivated and the project will succeed in spite of problems that might kill another project It is essential that project managers have a good understanding of communications

It is generally agreed among project managers that communications skills are the most important skills that a project manager can have These skills are considered to be more important than organization skills, team building skills, and leadership skills, and they are certainly considered more important for project managers than technical skills (figure 8-1) It is often said that if a project manager has good communications skills and no other skills at all, the project team will get the project completed successfully in spite of the project manager

According to the Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge,

communications management in projects is the process required to ensure timely and appropriate generation, collection, dissemination, storage, and ultimately disposition of project information

General Model of Communications

Communicating is the process of delivering a message to another with un-derstanding Refer to figure 8-2, the communications model We should first review the terms to make sure we are communicating properly

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Figure 8-1 The importance of communications management (survey of project managers).

Which of the following do you consider important

project management skills?

Thinking

The sender frames the ideas and creates the message that he or she wants to send

Encoding

The encoding process consists of formatting the message into some transmit-table form This makes the communication possible The language, written and spoken words, facial expressions, body language, and other means of transmitting an idea can be used Some of the time a communication we do not wish to send is sent anyway We can communicate by physically touch-ing someone We can communicate by maktouch-ing some sort of a physical ges-ture such as pointing a finger

Symbols

All sorts of symbols can be used to communicate Symbols stand in the place

of something we have experienced initially A picture of a person is a symbol

of that person A uniform is a symbol for a policeman Words are symbols for the objects or ideas they represent

Figure 8-2 Communications model.

Loop of understanding

Feedback

Channel

Channel

Message

Perceiving,

decoding,

and understanding

Thinking and encoding

Transmitting

This is the process of moving the message from the sender to the receiver The medium used might be air waves, as in the use of the spoken word; electronically, as in e-mail, telephone, and fax; visual signals; or combina-tions of these

Perceiving

The receiver must have recognition that the message is coming If there is

no perception of the message, then the message is never received Ultimately, the message must enter the receiver by means of one of a person’s five senses: sight, sound, smell, taste, or touch

Decoding

The receiver must now take the message and convert it into some form that can be understood

Understanding

If there is no understanding, there is no message The message must have some understandable meaning for the receiver

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Barriers to Communications

There can be many barriers to communications Messages can be blocked or distorted, and as a result, their meaning can be changed considerably

Distorted Perceptions

Many times the receiver is not in the proper frame of mind to receive the message This may be due to many factors, such as the environment, the mood of the receiver, or the subject matter being delivered The status of the person sending the message may have an effect as well When something

is being said by the person working in the next cubicle, the effectiveness of the communication will be different than if the person is the CEO of the company So we can say that motivation and needs and even experience affect a person’s perception

The receiver’s perception is also affected by the need to connect the new message to already received information that is stored in the receiver’s memory We try to connect new information to old information in order to make it meaningful

Distrusted Sources

The source of a communication may be wrong about what he or she is communicating It can be that the source is really wrong or it may be that

we are just convinced that the source is wrong When this condition exists

in an extreme way, it makes no difference what is really said The perception

of the message will be similar to what is expected

Transmission Errors

There are a number of reasons why a message is not properly received, and language is one of the most common problems Not only are the different words of different languages a problem, but the cultural differences between people who speak different languages result in errors in communication even

if the words and meanings are the same

Receiving and sending messages can only be done within the frame-work of common experience and understanding When the experience and understanding are different, communication is difficult

When you deal with people from different cultural backgrounds, care must be taken with the choice of words that you use This is not only necessary when dealing with those who are from a different country than yours There are significant cultural differences between people from

differ-ent parts of the same country and even from differdiffer-ent neighborhoods within the same city

Improving Communications

The following guidelines will help you improve your communications

Make the Message Relevant for the Receiver

Good communications come when the receiver is interested and has some-thing at stake in the message If the message is relevant, then the receiver is more likely to get a more complete meaning We have all been in the situa-tion where someone is telling us about something that is not relevant to us Our attention wanders off to some other area, and we actually do not hear anything that is said for a period of time

Reduce the Message to Its Simplest Terms

When you communicate with someone, keep the message as simple as possi-ble Many times the message is complicated with unnecessary details about the rationale and the justification of a project when the listener is already convinced and just wants to know what to do

Organize the Message into a Series of Stages

One of the reasons that verbal communication succeeds over written com-munications is the opportunity to keep things simple The sender can send

a simple part of the message and receive feedback immediately The sender can send another part of the message and receive feedback on that too In this way, the message is kept simple, and the receiver is brought to the complete understanding of the full message, one piece at a time You may have heard this question: ‘‘How do you eat an elephant?’’ The answer is,

‘‘One bite at a time.’’ Of course, if it takes too long, the elephant may spoil, and the message may be lost

Repeat the Key Points

Because listening takes place a very small percentage of the time, it is impor-tant to repeat the imporimpor-tant points of the message As communication takes place, it is a good idea to go back a few steps and summarize what has gone before This allows repetition of some of the major points and ensures that the receiver is getting all of the important points in the message

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Verbal and Written Communications

Many people think that there is no better way to communicate than through written messages and that written communications should be used without exception Today, with the use of e-mail, this feeling is becoming stronger

It is not unusual to see e-mail messages being exchanged between people who sit ten feet from one another Verbal and written communications each has its place, and it is important that the correct medium be used for each communication

Verbal communications are faster than written ones; they allow us to keep the message simple and present one thought at a time to the listener Verbal communications are two way, so we are able to get feedback from the receiver before going on If the feedback coming from the receiver does not confirm that he or she got the message, the message can be modified and the point made in another way Questions can be raised by the receiver to help clarify the point

Written communications can be more detailed than verbal ones and can be used to explain something that is quite complex and requires more explanation than the receiver can absorb in a short verbal exchange The written communication can be more organized than a verbal communica-tion, and if it is properly organized, the receiver is able to go back and review material already read

One of the reasons why so many people use e-mail is the timing issue E-mail can be sent quickly when the sender has the time and motivation to send it It is read and acted upon when the receiver has the time and motiva-tion to act on it In many ways this is much better than communicating by telephone While the telephone gives instant communication, the person being called is usually interrupted while doing something and must change his or her thinking to deal with the person calling on the telephone

In my classes I usually do an exercise where a group of five or six people are forced to communicate with written communications only They are given a simple problem to work out that requires input from each of them They are required to follow strict reporting procedures similar to procedures used in most companies They are given ten minutes to solve the problem, and less than one-tenth of one percent ever solve it The groups are then allowed to discuss the problem and do anything that they can to communi-cate When they are allowed to use free and open communications without restrictions, they all solve the problem in about sixty seconds

Formal and Informal Communications

Formal Communications

Project managers and members of their project teams are frequently required

to make formal presentations to their managers, their customers, and various other stakeholders in the project In order to accomplish this, it is necessary for them to have good presentation skills

Today we are fortunate that there is much in the way of computer software for presentations that makes this formerly expensive chore easy and inexpensive to accomplish One of the most popular software packages is Microsoft PowerPoint This software package makes formal presentations easy Digital photography is now widely available, so that photographs can

be easily inserted into the presentation to make it more meaningful Video projection is also widely available, so that the tedious process of making presentation graphics on transparencies is no longer necessary

Distance conferencing is now widely used Video and audio connec-tions between conference rooms eliminate the need to have people travel to distant locations to attend meetings This not only reduces the cost of travel but significantly saves time that could be devoted to more direct project work

The Internet has proven to be a great communication tool for project management Project data from various parts of a project located in remote parts of the world can be easily shared and combined with other project data through the Internet

E-mail has already changed the way we communicate For most of us, the use of e-mail has changed the way we do business Unlike telephone calls, which are almost always an interruption in what we are doing, the e-mail we receive is looked at when we want to This allows us to pay close attention to what is being communicated and carefully respond to inquiries Many times the decisions made quickly during a telephone call are soon regretted

Informal Communications

I have a good friend who is now retired from the U.S Navy He was a captain and had a large command of some twelve hundred people that he was responsible for We often have discussions about the Navy way of doing things

One of the problems in any military organization is the structure of the military chain of command The strict chain of command is required

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cause, when fighting a war, it is critical that legitimate orders be carried out There is usually no time for discussion, and commanders do not usually have time to explain things to the subordinates who are to carry out the orders It is important that each subordinate communicates to his or her superior officer and not deviate from that order It would lead to confusion

if an officer would go directly to a subordinate three levels below the officer The problem is that the military are not always engaged in war and fighting Most of the time they are engaged in the business of keeping the forces ready to fight This part of the military function is more like an every-day business As we have seen, in a company, free and open communications are better ways to communicate than by having a strict chain of command

It is not possible to have an organization work two different ways

The problem is solved by having parties The U.S Navy has frequent cocktail parties When I attended these parties, I noticed that very few people were drinking I also observed that very few people were sitting This was because the party allowed people to circulate regardless of rank and order in the chain of command If one person needed to get information from an-other, he or she could do it this way without going through the formality of the chain of command

Often in project management there is a need for formal communica-tions The normal method of communications between the project team and the stakeholders should be open and free, but there are times when formal communications are necessary When major milestones in the project are being passed and agreement must be had from all the stakeholders, formal communications are necessary When authorized project changes are made,

it is necessary to have formal communications As the number of persons involved in a decision is increased, the need for formal communications increases

Improving Listening

Many times when we listen we do not hear what is being said to us (See figures 8-3 and 8-4.) It is only possible to concentrate on what is being said for a small portion of the time There are several things to remember: don’t interrupt, put the speaker at ease; appear interested; cut out distractions; and periodically sum up what was said

Don’t Interrupt

One of the most disruptive things that can be done while someone is trying

to communicate a message is to interrupt the speaker This stops the

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Figure 8-3 The manager’s time.

• 80% of time is spent in communicating

• Half of communicating time is listening

• Most people recall 50% of what they hear

immediately after

• After two months 25% is recalled

Communicating

80% of time

Half of

communication

is listening

20%

Other tasks

80% of time communicating

Other tasks (20% of time)

time spent listening ( 1/2 of 80%

= 40%)

Listening

Figure 8-4 Diminishing levels of understanding.

Top Management 100%

Vice President 66%

General Management 55%

Plant Manager 40%

Foreman 30%

Worker 20%

er’s chain of thought and makes him or her feel that you are not interested

in what the speaker has to say The offended feeling on the part of the sender of the message may be enough to make the person angry if it is done repeatedly Eventually, this will reduce the effectiveness of the communica-tion There are times when this is used as a tactic If a meeting is going in a direction that you do not like, sometimes by repeatedly interrupting you can get the speaker so upset that the meeting can be postponed, giving you enough time to gather information to make the meeting go along a proper course

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Put the Speaker at Ease

Many times the speaker in a meeting is nervous and uncomfortable in the speaking role To encourage the speaker you can make comments before and during the meeting to make it known that you are looking forward to what

he or she has to say and what an important contribution the speaker will be making to the meeting During the presentation, nod your head in agree-ment and smile at some of the speaker’s comagree-ments When something is said that you agree with, voice your positive comments, if possible All of this creates a feeling of confidence and trust in the speaker

It is important that project managers have good presentation skills Project managers are frequently called upon to make formal and informal presentations to other managers, clients, stakeholders, and the like Project managers must be able to convey the information in a way that is compre-hensible to their audience

Appear Interested

Creating the impression that you are very interested in what is being said will do a lot to make the speaker feel at ease with the audience and will also make you retain more of the information that is being sent by the speaker

Cut Out Distractions

Listening can be improved greatly by improving the environment where the communication is taking place Noisy distracting places severely inhibit communications, while quiet places with no telephones and a closed door will greatly improve them Asking all of the attendees to turn off cellular phones and pagers or at least put them on their vibrating mode will help to improve the environment

Periodically Sum Up What Was Said

Listening can be further improved by periodically summarizing what has been said By doing this you are essentially repeating what was said in a different way All of the attendees in the meeting will hear again what was said but in a different way, and their retention will be higher Summarizing also has the side benefit of making the speaker relax

Networking

Networking is an important concept in communications management It is important to understand the relationships between people who are